Musings: Pennies & Spiderwebs

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A penny that costs more than a penny is more than a quirky headline; it’s a sharp clue that our symbols of value can slip out of sync with reality. From that strange starting point, we open a wider lens on creative work, purpose, and the messy middle where many pursuits coexist before they cohere. If you’ve ever waited for one calling to choose you, this conversation offers a different map.

We talk through the myth of “the one thing” and trade it for a spider’s blueprint: anchor a corner, then another, and spiral until the center reveals itself. Early passes look chaotic and even embarrassing, but those loops build tension, strength, and direction. Along the way we explore why logic comes later, how patience protects fragile beginnings, and what it means to rebuild after the wind takes your work apart. Value emerges through repetition and connection, not through a perfect plan.

The episode also leans into vision and support. Like a spider sensing light and motion more than detail, we learn to follow signals instead of waiting for certainty. Mo digs into the courage to commit without fearing “forever,” the power of showing up when outcomes are unknown, and the quiet relief of friendships that let you set down the performer identity and be enough as a person. If you’re juggling skills and wondering whether they belong together, consider this your invitation to weave the threads and let the center find you.

If this resonates, follow the show and share it with a friend who’s building their own web, and leave a rating or review so more creatives can find their way here.

Instagram: @this.is.a.metaphor & @joyscout.mo

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Cover Design by: Joyscout Studio // For commissioned art & design inquiries: Joyscout Studio

“Don’t get Deterred, get Inspired”

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:08):
I think it's wild.
I I absolutely wild that we'renot gonna make pennies anymore.
Like that it seems like maybenot a good thing.
It seems it seems not greatbecause we created coins to be
the thing that represents thething that we made up.

(00:33):
We made up money and then wemade up the thing to represent
the money so that we can havethis both literal and symbolic
trade of what we hold to bevaluable.
And now money can't afforditself to be made.

(00:54):
Like the pennies are tooexpensive to make.
Shouldn't money have a say inthis?
Money can't afford itself rightnow.
What does that even mean?
Like, how absolutely nonsensicalhas this become?

(01:15):
But I mean, nonsensicallyspeaking, there's a lot of
nonsensical things that happenin the world, and maybe when
you're wrapped up in the middleof it, it is just it's not to be
inspected so closely when you'rewhen you're in the center of the
nonsense.

(01:35):
I've had a couple reallywonderful conversations this
week with friends andacquaintances who are um really
uh creative people and they do alot of different creative
pursuits.
And um this is a hard segue, Ithink, but a necessary one

(01:56):
because when you are in the actof many things and you expect
one to kind of stick or connector like or one of these pursuits
of yours is gonna be the thing,and then you'll know your path,
you'll know your purpose.
I just don't think that that'sthe way that it's gonna happen

(02:19):
for a lot of people.
Like, if you have a lot ofdifferent pursuits and a lot of
passions at the center of all ofthose things, at the center of
the confusion and the chaos,that is your thing.
And I I think I've been thinkinga lot about how spiders build

(02:44):
their webs.
Um when a spider is building herweb, she does not start in the
center, she has a corner, andthen she starts bringing these
corners together.
And the center is you know wherethey all connect, where she
finds herself, and then there'sthe spiral out, and then she

(03:09):
starts from the outside andworks her way back in, and it
creates the foundation of theweb, like it creates her her
system, and it it allows forthis structure of hers to become
more fortified, and it canwithstand the elements, and it

(03:31):
can withstand you know, wind andrain, and you know, this thing
is like bringing her food too,like this is a giant trap.
And and if you've ever seen aspider build a web, like they
look fucking crazy at first, youknow, it looks bonkers, like
she's just kind of spiralingthere in the air for a second,

(03:54):
like spinning out of controlbecause she's looking for the
thing, and she's gotta build it,you know.
Like she's kind of working withthe spot that she's chosen.
And I don't know if you knowthis, but from what I've read
about spiders is that they don'thave a lot of detail in their
vision, like they haven't got alot of eyes, but they're very

(04:15):
sensitive to light in the sensethat they see um, you know, they
see a lot of color and theymaybe see shapes and a lot of
ambiance, but they don't havethat vivid detail like we do,
and it makes it really kind ofbeautiful, and also it makes
sense as to why they'll likedrop right in front of your face
when they're hanging from theceiling, because you know,
you're just a big ball of lightto them, most likely.

(04:39):
But when a spider builds herweb, she goes from corner to
corner and she brings hercorners together, and like that
is for the multidisciplinedcreative or the entrepreneur
that doesn't understand why theyhave so many experiences and
skill sets, like you're bringingeach corner together, circle

(05:04):
after circle, and the more thatyou intertwine these places that
you've chosen, and have chosenyou, your worlds will collide,
like they will collide at thecenter, and that is exactly
where you're supposed to be.
And the more that you fortifyit, the more that you keep
showing up and and walking thepath, the path that you know,

(05:28):
once you start walking the path,the path will appear.
Those are not my words.
That is the that is that is acreative life, you know.
It's not just the creativepursuit, and it's not just the
artist's walk, and it's not justthe entrepreneur.
That is that is that is the lifethat we build for ourselves, and

(05:49):
it seems maybe irrelevant atfirst, and it seems confusing,
and it and it feels illogical,which is the scariest fucking
thing for most people.
I know.
Um, but logic does not comefirst, okay.
You know, and logic comes later.
Logic is when you make sense ofthings when it is uh when you've

(06:09):
given it space to make sense,like it happens when you have
lived and can reflect.
And you know, don't judge, don'tjudge the space that you're in
that's undefined, because youhaven't you haven't built the
web yet.
And and if you are building theweb, like be patient because
it's beautiful, but it'sfragile, and sometimes you have

(06:33):
to go again.
And there's a lot of I thinkresentment or hostility or
severe martyrdom that likemyself and I I know most
creatives who aren't at thecenter of their industry, like

(06:55):
feel that the world hasn't justlike brushed up against them in
total support and opportunity,and it's just like it probably
is in a lot of different ways,and it's right, it's right
there, you know.
But you might have to build alot more than you are willing to

(07:17):
admit, and it's gonna requirethat you do that, and it there's
a lot of power there, and it'sreally scary, and I'm super
sorry, but it will be one of theproudest things that you ever do
is to show up to build your ownworld because I mean you might

(07:39):
be terrified of spiders, butlike webs are fascinating.
I mean, it is like an intricate,beautiful thing, and catches
light like nothing else.
And when raindrops fall on it,like wow, wow, it's really
beautiful.
It'll last forever, and that'sokay too.

(08:02):
You know, I don't know whatyou're building.
So don't be afraid if you think,you know, sometimes I think we
get afraid to commit tosomething too, because we're
like, what if it's forever?
And I don't want this to beforever, but like I want this
opportunity, just do it becauseyou've no idea what's gonna be
the thing, you have no idea, andthat is where the freedom lies.

(08:23):
Have faith in the things thatyou want, trust and the things
that you do, and make friends,make friends, make friends with
your beliefs, make friends withyour literal people, build a

(08:46):
support system where you can besomething other than a spider
building its web, you know.
It's nice to set down what youthink you are and to just be
loved and appreciated for being,you know, it's it's okay to set
things down.
I remember both when I found myreal friends, like uh people

(09:10):
that I feel like I could show myfaults to and my vulnerabilities
to, and they still fucking lovedme.
Like that I thought that I was afailure because they because I
wasn't like an artist when I waswith them, you know, like we
weren't together because of theart that we did together.
And I was like, wow, I'm reallyfailing because my friend group
isn't like me.
And it just turns out that thatwas like the best thing I ever

(09:33):
fucking needed because it waslike you are like this is the
greatest gift is to be able toset down the great expectation
that you have and to be able tobe a human and be enough in that
way.